1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an endoscope system, an endoscope image recording apparatus, an endoscope image acquisition assisting method, and a related computer readable medium.
2. Description of Related Art
In an endoscopic examination, plural parts to be examined are determined in advance and a diagnosis is made based on images taken by imaging the inside of the body cavity of a patient by a prescribed procedure. An operator is required to perform imaging work fast and accurately because several to more than 20 images are taken per examination and it is desired in hospitals etc. to examine a number of patients in a short time. In such a situation, a mistake tends to occur such as a failure to image some parts to be examined. A failure to image some parts makes it difficult to make a correct diagnosis, and re-imaging is a heavy load on the patient.
Additionally, in endoscopic examinations, one or plural parts to be examined in the body cavity are determined in advance for each patient (subject person) and a diagnosis is made based on images taken by imaging those examination parts by a prescribed procedure. More specifically, the operator of an endoscope inserts the insertion unit of the endoscope into the body cavity of a patient and advances the tip portion of the insertion unit of the endoscope to each predetermined examination part while checking the position of the tip portion of the insertion unit in the body cavity. Every time the tip portion of the insertion unit reaches an examination part, the operator takes a still image by pushing a still image imaging button while checking a image displayed on a monitor screen and fine-adjusting the imaging position and direction.
Operators are required to perform imaging work fast and accurately because several to more than 20 images are taken per examination and it is desired in hospitals etc. to examine a number of patients in a short time. In such a situation, a mistake tends to occur such as a failure to image some parts to be examined. A failure to image some parts makes it difficult to make a correct diagnosis, and re-imaging to acquire missing images is a heavy load on the patient.
Various apparatus for detecting the position of the insertion unit of an endoscope in a body cavity have been developed as parts of techniques for guiding the insertion unit to a desired examination part. For example, in a position detecting apparatus of JP-A-2000-081303, the insertion unit of an endoscope is provided with magnetism generating units and an examination bed is provided with magnetic sensors. The position of insertion unit of the endoscope in a body cavity is detected from results of detection of the magnetism generating unit by the magnetic sensors.
JP-A-2000-135215 proposes an endoscope insertion assisting apparatus which generates a 3D image of a tubular passage of a subject based on 3D image data of the subject, generates, in the generated 3D image, a virtual endoscope image of a route to a destination along the tubular passage based on image data, and displays the generated virtual endoscope image. This endoscope insertion assisting apparatus makes it possible to move the insertion unit of the endoscope to a desired position reliably.